Pickwick Place

From Bhamwiki
(Redirected from Pickwick Plaza)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Rendering for Pickwick Place

Pickwick Place (originally planned as Magnolia Mall and opened as The Pickwick Plaza) is a retail center located at Five Points South circling behind the Medical Arts Building (Hotel Indigo) and the building housing Black Market Bar & Grill restaurant. A 25,000 square foot open pedestrian plaza connects 20th Street South to Magnolia Avenue. The development contains 33,792 square feet of retail tenant space and 8,200 square feet of office space.

Pickwick Place was developed beginning in 1981 by Kahn Properties. Owner and president Donald Kahn, a heart surgeon, began acquiring $10 million worth of properties in the area and planning a European-style shopping center which would include a parking deck, for a $3 million budget. The hotel redevelopment was a partnership between Kahn and other investors. Terry Belcher served as development manager for the project. The $9 million project was supported with funds from Birmingham's Historical Preservation Development Authority.

The development was designed by Kidd, Plosser, Sprague architects in an Art Deco style inspired by the former Pickwick Club, a dance club which operated nearby in the 1930s-1950s. The plaza's two pedestrian entrances, on 20th Street and Magnolia Avenue, were framed with stuccoed pediments with the name of the project in purple neon lights. Large stuccoed planters were trimmed with teal-colored ceramic tile. Tiled ramps and red brick steps were lined with purple handrails. Openings facing into the plaza were shaded with cloth awnings. Violet for retail tenants and dark green for the hotel.

Development of the center included the $140,000 renovation of the Medical Arts Building to convert it into a hotel, originally called the Pickwick Hotel. A tiled plaza was built connecting the hotel to the 4-level 5 Points South Parking Deck, with several retail spaces and meeting rooms for the hotel. Kahn's daughter Gayle served as property manager with Joe McElroy of the Still Co. of Chattanooga, Tennessee as leasing agent. The developers hoped to recruit national retailers to the project. Original tenants included Rube Burrows Food & Spirits, Birmingham Apothecary, Concorde Salon, Cosmo's Pizza and Galileo's Ice Cream.

By May 1987 Kahn observed that his hopes of attracting national upscale retail tenants had not born fruit, with only The Pink Tulip gift shop and The Computer Image having signed leases; but he saw the opportunity for the project to succeed as a restaurant and entertainment destination. Zach Hutto of Campco Real Estate Group took over leasing. By that point, additional bar and restaurant tenants included 88s piano bar, Roma's Restaurant, Caps Grill, and Cafe Kira.

In 2008 Gayle Kahn, as president of Kahn Properties, began a remodeling of Pickwick Place. Changes included replacing tile on the walkways with stained concrete, removal of awnings, planters and decorative archways to open up the space, and the addition of new signage, lighting and security cameras. The name was changed at that time to "Pickwick Plaza" to reflect general usage.

After Kahn's death in 2015, his real estate portfolio continued to operate as Kahn Holdings, with a subsidiary, KH Management in charge of leasing and operation.

Retail tenants

References

External links

Retrieved from "http://bhamwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Pickwick_Place&oldid=222197"